1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Convergence of Broadcasting and Mobile Service (CBMS) system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for Electronic Service Guide (ESG) selection in a CBMS system.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of communication and broadcast technologies, broadcast systems and mobile communication systems are able to provide a mobile Broadcast, which includes transmission of packet data through a broadcast channel. The capability of the mobile Broadcast is beyond that of the typical broadcast service which is limited to voice and image services. Establishing such a mobile Broadcast may include the discovery of a service by a mobile terminal capable of receiving the mobile broadcast, such as a mobile phone, a notebook, or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), subscription of the mobile terminal to the service, provision of various pieces of control information for reception of the service, transmission of the service and reception of the service by the mobile terminal.
The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), which is an organization studying standards for interaction between individual mobile solutions, has determined standards for various applications mainly relating to mobile games, Internet services, etc. Among the working groups of the OMA, the sub working group of the Browser and Content (OMA BAC) Mobile Broadcast (BCAST) is studying technologies for convergence of a broadcast service and a mobile communication service by using a mobile terminal capable of communicating with an interactive network. Further, the Digital Video Broadcasting-Convergence of Broadcasting and Mobile Service (DVB-CBMS), which is an organization for mobile broadcast terminal standards, also defines system structures, interfaces, etc. for convergence of a broadcast service and a mobile communication service.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a conventional CBMS system.
FIG. 1 illustrates logical entities interacting with each other in order to achieve capabilities required for Internet Protocol (IP) Data Cast (IPDC) based on DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld). The entities illustrated in FIG. 1 are discriminated based on their main functions and may be located within either physically discriminated servers or the same server.
Referring to FIG. 1, the content creation block 101 creates content sources for a broadcast service and supplies the created content sources to the service application block 103. The service application block 103 creates service data for a particular service by aggregating the content sources, which are supplied from the content creation block 101, with metadata that is used for service configuration. For creation of the service data, the service application block 103 includes multiple sub-entities managing different applications for individual services. The service management block 105 includes sub-entities performing functions including service configuration, resource allocation, electronic service guide provisioning, security, and Mobility Management (MM) between the service application block 103 and a terminal 111.
The broadcast network 107 is a network that transmits broadcast service data, an example of which is the DVB-H system. In general, the interactive network 109 refers to a cellular mobile communication network, such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications system (UMTS) according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)-2000 according to the 3GPP2, and the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or Wireless Broadband internet (WiBro). Also, the interactive network 109 may include all types of mobile communication networks capable of receiving information or a request from the terminal 111 and transmitting a response to the information or the request. The broadcast network 107 and the interactive network 109 operate as transmission bearers in a Convergence of Broadcasting and Mobile Service (CBMS) system.
The terminal 111 refers to a user terminal or receiver capable of accessing the interactive network 109 and receiving a broadcast service supplied from the broadcast network 107. In a CBMS system, the terminal 111 receives service data and signaling information from the broadcast network 107 and bi-directionally exchanges service data and signaling information with the interactive network 109.
Hereinafter, interfaces between individual entities including the logical entities will be described. In FIG. 1, CBMS-x and X-x refer to reference points between different functional entities, wherein CBMS-x refers to a reference point within the range of an IP datacast relating to the DVB-H specification and X-x refers to a reference point out of the range of an IP datacast relating to the DVB-H specification.
The interfaces of X-1, X-2 and X-3 refer to reference points between the broadcast network 107 and other entities, and they are typically not used in interactive standards based on the DVB-H. The X-1 interface interconnects the content creation block 101 and the service application block 103, the X-2 interface interconnects the interactive network 109 and the terminal 111, and the X-3 interface interconnects the service management block 105 and the interactive network 109.
The CBMS-1 interface carries broadcast-related signaling, i.e. Program Specific Information/Service Information (PSI/SI), from the broadcast network 107 to the terminal 111, and the CBMS-2 interface transfers content including audio, video, and files, from the service application block 103 to the terminal 111. The CBMS-3 interface transfers an Electronic Service Guide (ESG) from the service management block 105 to the terminal 111 through the broadcast network 107 in the form of Point-To-Multipoint (PTM) transmission. The CBMS-4 interface is used for Point-To-Point (PTP) transmission of ESG metadata and access control for service applications of the service application block 103 between the service management block 105 and the terminal 111. The CBMS-5 interface, which is an interface for PTP transmission service between the service application block 103 and the terminal 111, transfers a Short Message Service (SMS), a Multimedia Message Service (MMS), etc. through the interactive network 109. The CBMS-6 interface carries configuration parameters, which include allocated bandwidths and the number of services for DVB-H transmission, between the service management block 105 and the broadcast network 107. The CBMS-7 interface is used for description of a service application including metadata and content description or declaration of a service application between the service application block 103 and the service management block 105.
In order to receive a broadcast service in a mobile broadcast system such as the CBMS system, the terminal receives a Service Guide (SG), which includes description information of the service itself, charging information for the service, and information on a method of receiving the service. Then, by using the SG, the terminal can receive a service that it desires.
According to the conventional art as described above, in order to receive the ESG bootstrap information and receive a desired service through selection of an ESG, the terminal has to select an ESG bootstrap entry point from the PSI/SI in the broadcast network. Therefore, there is a need for the ability to select an ESG in an interactive network using an OMA Device Management (DM) without using the broadcast network.